She’s back!

I started blogging as Simply Mrs. Edwards way back in 2011, just a few months after I became Mrs. Edwards. I posted about all sorts of things—learning how to cook, DIY projects, living on a tight budget, trips we took, and every day life as newlyweds in our tiny 800 sq. ft. house. Back then, there was no pressure to have perfectly styled photos and optimized SEO. Social media wasn’t really a thing (I don’t think I even had an Instagram account!) and “Pinterest Perfect” didn’t really exist. I wrote my posts as if I was talking with my friends, updating them on my day to day. There was freedom and simplicity in my posting and it was such a fun, creative outlet for me for many years.

Somewhere along the way though, things started to get complicated. I started to let perfectionism and comparison creep in and at some point I stopped posting altogether because I was crippled by it. Going viral became a thing and if I couldn’t compete with the big bloggers, or have the most perfectly edited photos, I didn’t think what I was posting was worthy. Looking back, I can see that I lost out on some really healthy creativity because of some imaginary boundary I was giving myself. I let anxiety and perfectionism control so much of my life, including how I expressed my creativity.

The last few years have been hugely transformative for me, as I think they probably have been for many people. Lots of self reflection and learning that it’s okay to change my mind about things I once held tightly to. Although there have been some really rough moments, I am so grateful for the growth I’ve experienced. I’m learning to care less about what others think (or what I think they think) and seek out more things that bring me joy and fulfillment just for the sake of doing them. I’ve lost a lot of the self consciousness that used to cripple me, have learned to manage my anxiety, and have simplified my life to really only include things that are necessary and bring me joy. I finally feel like I (mostly) have it together and actually like the person I’m becoming. Maybe that’s your mid-30s for ya!

I’ve also really found a love for home and design. It’s been important to me to create a cozy, simple place to live in. I’ve kept up with sharing some about our home over on my Instagram account, but have been itching for a way to share more in depth behind-the-scenes and tutorials.

So, all that to say—I’ve decided to fire up the blog again! Is blogging still relevant? Maybe, maybe not. But I think it may be something that I’ll enjoy again, now that I don’t really care what people think about me (seriously though, I probably should think twice about what I’m comfortable wearing to the grocery store these days, eek).

A lot has happened in the last few years—we moved across the country a couple of times, had multiple job changes, owned two different homes, and we welcomed a new four-legged friend into our home (hi, Gladys!)

A few things haven’t changed though—mainly that I still love DIYing alongside of Josh (our skills have greatly improved over the years thanks to YouTube and making lots of mistakes). We’re finally finishing up the complete remodel of our 1960s home in Phoenix, AZ and have so much to share about the process!

My plan is to recap the projects that we’ve completed and take you along for future ones. I may throw in some day-to-day stuff as well, like meal planning, recipes, and organizing, but we’ll see—my goal is to keep it simple (trying to stay true to my name, hah!) and low stress. I hope I have a much better chance of getting it right this time :)

Follow along if you’d like!